Friday vacation: NOT

 

This was not my week for vacation, even though it started out ok. Our first day was a paddle on the lake. The weather was nice, but the wind was awful, so we were only able to paddle along the back cove since the wind was too hard to paddle against. Of course Bean was happy, he got to go swimming in the shallow waters.

The next day we went to the kayak store and got a tandem kayak. I wanted something safe and something we could both paddle, to make it easy to cross to the islands in the bay. We got out gear and tested it in the local cove. It wasn't as easy to paddle as I was hoping and we were both dogged when we got back. Later that evening, we both got sicker and realized we were sick. Then Bill got email from a coworker to let him know, he had gone home sick and had covid, lucky us. The good thing is, we can fit bean and the boys with Bill in this kayak, a lot better.

The next day I stayed home since I felt like garbage. I sat in the back yard and caught a few of the birds that love the berries on the Mulberry tree. I am still trying to get the colorful orioles.

The next day I decided I needed an upgrade for my phone. The new ones have better pixels and camera capabilities, and the battery lasts longer. I was able to catch this baby Wren in the nest, we have 4 different houses with wrens in them, this year.

We spent a couple of days at the lighthouse. It has been too humid, but the ocean areas had cool breezes. Perfect place to get out for some easy walks and fresh air.

We have had a lot of wind this week. I love watching the boats as they battle the waves. This one was a group of kids, learning to sail. They ended up taking the sail down and turning back, I guess it was too much for them to learn on.

There are lots of Red-winged Blackbirds on the island, this one was guarding his territory, his mate was nesting nearby.

Today we went out for a paddle, I took my peddle boat. It was a beautiful day and not too windy. As you can see, it was low tide, so I had to stay in the channels. I have long peddles underneath, so the water has to be deep enough to move.

We went up the cove and landed on the inner beach. Beautiful views and we were able to take a swim on the bay side, where it was deeper.

I took a close up of the light at the end, with my zoom. I didn't realize that there was a nest on top. 

And a view from the beach landing. The clouds were coming in, but the storm wasn't expected for hours. So we headed back into the cove and went around the islands. At the last one, I got stuck in mud, so bill tried pushing me forward with his boat to get into deeper water, but there was none. I finally got half his paddle and had to single paddle out of the muck. It too forever to get through it and moving was hard with a half paddle and just as I got into deeper water, the storm hit. So, we were trying to paddle, which isn't easy with a flat stand up boat and lightening was coming down.

We made it to shore, just as it started to rain, then it started to pour. Luckily the lighting stayed away from us and we made it home safely. I was able to snap a shot of the crabs on the beach, they are fun to watch. Hopefully the next two days will be less eventful, but I won't count on it. 

I am doing ok and more of a light flu for me. I have had it before and with meds, can fight it off. I hope this finds all of you well and enjoying your summer.

Weekly Wanderings!

 

This week went by fast and we got out to enjoy some nice weather and a few rainy days. I have been working on my quilt and hopefully, it will be finished next week.

We got out to the island for a walk around the lighthouse after the rain stopped, so it was a nice way to get out and walk on the road and stay out of the wet grass. Always beautiful views and lots of birds.

We also went to the beach a few times, but the tide was always high, so not as much to find, just cool walks on the beach.

Even with high tide, walking along the edge, I find a few things that get thrown up. A large piece of pottery was a big find, it even has the rounded handle on it. I am thinking it was a bean pot.

At home, my feathered friends are alway a delight to see and the bunnies are out more this season.

And the local turkeys showed up and showing off their brood, quite a few this year.

And today we had the boys for the afternoon. We took them on our boats to a little island in the local cove. They loved being able to swim and a picnic on the beach. It was too windy to go to the point, but we were able to paddle a bit in the inner coves to show them the wildlife. Alex found out why you don't lean over in a boat, he and Bill went over, sure wish I had a photo of that, lol.

The kids came over for dinner and finished staining our porch, so now I can do the finish work and put it all back together. I hope you all had a nice week and enjoy the holiday weekend.

Friday Finish and Paddle Day!

This week I started two projects and finished one, well ….. almost. I made a punch needle from the latest issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects from a rug design by Tonya Robey. I think it will make a nice piece for the kitchen and I am thinking that I can make something with hangers and than attach it to that with double sided tape and change it out with the seasons.

I used scrap floss from my box and some of it was over dyed. I am not sure on the green and orange shades, but I still have to antique it and I think that should tone it down and give it the look I want. This way, I will stain it first and if I don't like how it comes out, I can still take that part out and redo it.

On the original design, there are flowers on the other side, as well. I did this with 6 strands of floss and a #2 height.

Bill was on a trip and came home this week, but they are still busy at work, so he is working around the clock. The good thing is they have him coming in later, so we were able to get out today and go for a paddle.

The tide was higher than usual so we could paddle all over the harbor without worrying about shallow areas. The birds lost their usual hangouts so they were all over the buoys and boats. I hate to be the owner of this boat, he is going to have a mess to clean up when he goes out this weekend.

It was a bit warm for paddling in the coves, and I wanted to enjoy the breezes so we headed out to the bay. The water was so high, you could paddle over the rocks. The birds didn't have many places to sit today. Usually this area has a line of rocks from the opening all the way to the lighthouse.

Some of the birds found a new place to hang out for the day.

We paddled further out in the bay since the boat traffic was light today. It was so nice to be out on the water and the fresh air was rejuvenating.

To finish the day, we went into the town harbor. This is the old bridge, leading out of town. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and hopefully I will finish both of my projects this weekend.

Weekend Wanderings!

This weekend kept me busy. Bill had to work on saturday but my son came over and I got to enjoy some play time with Nicholas.

Guess who is walking now and who doesn't stay still for long, so he kept me busy running after him.

Sunday we went for a paddle in our harbor. The weather was unpredictable and I didn't want to be too far from the launch in case a storm came in. It was overcast and it did rain a few times, but the nice thing was, no crowds, calm waters and cool air.

The tides were high so we could get right into the coves and enjoy the wildlife.

The wild fowl loved the weather too.

With the high tides we could go all the way into the inlets, the bull rush grows really tall in this area.

Today we went out with my Brother and Sister in law. I realized after a few minutes that they are not fast paddlers, so we slowed down the pace and followed them. I was able to talk my brother into going up the to ocean and even though he was nervous, he realized how fun and beautiful it was, once we got there.

Weekend Fun!

This weekend was good and bad. On the fourth we got rain and wind from the hurricane and the winds stayed around for the rest of the weekend. I enjoy a nice breeze but it is not fun if you are trying to paddle against it.

Saturday was a nice day but my son called and wanted to visit and I wasn't going to say no to spending the day with my grandson. My DIL is still made at me. She refuses to visit and is trying to keep my son from coming over, as well. I wanted to watch Nicholas, I love having him and he makes me happy, but my body isn't what it used to be and I threw out my rib again and lifting him, even on visits, kills it again. I do not know why she doesn't understand that except that she is self centered and expects everyone to do things her way, so I enjoy the time I get with him and ignore her behavior;)

I was in a store and found a fun baby boat on sale, so I had to get it. I blew it up and let him play in it, he really loved it and was having fun but once we put it and him in the water, he started crying, lol. He is not found of cold water and my pool was cold from the rain, so hopefully he will come over when it is warmer and we can try again.

Sunday I was tired and sore from playing with Nick, but it was worth it. The wind was still blowing hard but I wanted to get out on the water. We went to the town harbor and putted around the coves to keep out of the winds. Even in the coves the wind was blowing across the water.

And here is my view of the water and the cove, looking out into the bay. We sat on the beach by the breakers and enjoyed the breezes and a swim, while we watched the boats coming in and out of the harbor. We were going to go into town but the wind was blowing against me, so hard that I gave up trying to get across and went back the way we came.

Today I actually did some sewing, working on a simple runner for my bedroom and it will be good practice to do machine quilting. I also started on a new design for punch needle, it is still in the drawing stage.

TGIF Day!

Well, I haven't said that since I had my last job, lol. I have had the baby all day, all week and it has been a long week. He is such a joy and he loves to be loved and loves the attention grandma gives him but it sure wears grandma out. They are looking into day care so we are trying to work it out so he can stay there 3 days a week and 2 days with me. That will help them to save money and not wear me out.

We got some nice days this week so Nicholas got to enjoy going for a walk with us. Everything fascinates him and he loves being outside.

He loved walking along the bike path at the town launch, lots of water and seagulls to enjoy. I wonder how small they make life jackets, I bet he would love to go paddling, lol.

The next day we went to the new bike path in town, we just walked along the last end. It goes past marshes and inlets, so nice views. I have to see if we can find a used baby bike trailer to pull him in.

Now grandma can rest for the weekend and enjoy some hikes and some sewing time.

Sunday Paddle!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We had a beautiful day yesterday and I decided to get out for a paddle. We went to the town launch and stayed in the cove. It was high tide so it makes it nice to be able to go in and out of the coves and not worry about hitting bottom.

My daughter wanted to go, she is loving kayaking but she needs better gear.

Dad and Daughter paddling past Smith's Castle.

We went around a few coves and landed at the little beach by the breakers. This is the perfect spot to relax and enjoy the views and take a swim.

We even had some visitors. The circle of life continues, even for horseshoe crabs, lol.

Still Paddling!

Today I relaxed in the morning and decided it was a good day to take a short, easy paddle. Well, so much for that idea, we ended up paddling 8 miles today. No idea how that happened, didn't seem that far, lol.

We stuck close to home and went to our town launch. It was low tide, so not too many places to paddle in the coves, so we went around the island and then headed out to the bay. We were going to go to a spot on an inner cove that has a strong current coming through a channel, so you can swim in one spot and never move, but it was too shallow.

We ended up paddling to the other side and paddling, till we found a nice sandy spot. Rhode Island has a lot of rocky coast and this area is mostly rocks, but we were able to find the perfect spot all to ourselves.

Lots of beach, just for us;)

Since the tide was out, there were a lot of exposed shells on the beach. I threw this guy back in the water after I got his photo, way too hot to be stuck on the beach.

It was a humid day out, but the cool ocean breezes made it perfect for paddling.

Coming into the harbor was fun too, lots of boaters coming and going and all with a friendly greeting as you pass by, I love my town:)

Anniversary Week!

This week is our anniversary, so Bill always takes this week off. Of course we plan on paddling as much as possible but we needed some new gear for Bill's kayak so we ended up at EMS and they had a sale on kayaks, not good;)

So, after hemming and hawing and talking myself out of getting one, Bill told the guy to bring it out and I have a new kayak. She is longer and sleeker so faster on the water, a big plus. She has a padded seat and padded leg braces, very comfortable and makes bracing in the rougher waters, a lot easier. There is a drop down skeg so I can paddle straight and not have to adjust my course constantly, so I have to admit, I love it and I love paddling in it.

We went out yesterday for a trial run and I got used to how she feels in the water and I paddled for two hours and didn't get tired out.

Today we went from our town beach, nice and cloudy so it kept us cool. I guess this sign is for those who can read, feathered friends can do what they want.

We paddled under the bridge and rested on the other side, then headed back. I set my trails today to see how far we went and it was 3 miles one way, so we did six miles today, not bad for my second time out, this year. I think a better boat was a really good idea. Poor Bill has to slog along in his old one, but he has more muscle, so it evens us out;)

To top the day off, we had a nice cookout with the kids and of course my sweet grandson. They put the new outfit on him, that I bought and realized that the number on it was 28, he was born on the 28th, so that was funny that I would pick that out before he was born.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed time with their families.

The day after!

The storm is over and tonight the moon is out, all is good.

We had a lot of wind and one tree that came down, on my fence, so that has to be fixed.

Our village was under water and today we drove through to see how things were. You could see the water that was still around the homes and a few with pumps, getting the water out of the basements.

Usually a boat or two gets thrown into someones yard, but today, just one left it's mooring. 

Since we were in the village, I decided I wanted to go see the old church. When I was a kid, I went to a  Baptist church in town and we would hold special services in the Old Narragansett Church. It is the oldest Episcopal church in the Northeast, built in 1707.

Here is the church from the side with the old gravestones. Now it is open for tours only.

We decided to take a drive south and go to the URI bay campus. It is a nice place to enjoy the views of the bay and the coastlines. There were still some waves and this poor guy couldn't sit and relax for long, before he got hit with one.

And a few were just too much, so he had to get off the rock when those hit. It was nice to get out and I hope that the rest of the states are able to get back to enjoying their lives again.